


Unfortunate

by MaryWithinTheRose



Category: Nofandom
Genre: Animals, Death, F/M, High School, Kidnapping, Partial, Rape, Rights Reserved, Stockholm Syndrome, Survival, Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-03
Updated: 2017-04-03
Packaged: 2018-10-14 11:35:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 15
Words: 9,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10535646
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaryWithinTheRose/pseuds/MaryWithinTheRose





	1. The Beginning

Chapter 1  
Three days earlier  
It was a nice sunny Monday morning. I was all ready for my boyfriend, Cory, to pick me up for school. My mom came walking out onto the porch and hands me a piece of toast and a glass of orange juice.  
“You all ready for your camping trip, Jaycee?” She asked.  
“Yeah, I have been packing since last week.” I replied.  
“Just making sure you got it all.”  
*HONK HONK* Cory’s here. I jumped up and run to the car; which wasn’t very fast with all of my bags.  
“Love you Jaycee.” mom yelled.  
“Love you too mom.” I yelled back.  
“Hey babe ready to go?” Cory asked as I got into the car.  
“Yeah, let’s go.” I told him as I kissed his cheek.  
We got to the school about 20 minutes later. Our principal Mr. Homer was standing in front of a crowd of juniors. He tried to quiet the crowd with little success. Finally, he was able to shout over everyone.  
“Alright junior's ready to hear your groups and buses?”  
“YEAH!” yelled the majority of juniors.  
“In group 1 is Jamie C., Sharon H., Kyle D., Sebastian S., and Madeline W. Group 1 on bus 1. In group 2 are Kayla R., Cory P., Carly J., Joe R., and Jaycee K”.  
I was so glad I was in a group with my boyfriend and my best friend Kayla.  
When Mr. Homer was done announcing groups we begun loading onto the buses and then took off. Kayla and I sat together on the bus and we talked about all the plans we had for this weekend. 


	2. Building Camp

Chapter 2  
When we got there, we had to grab all our bags and get with our groups. Mr. Homer is telling us where our groups will be camping and who our chaperones will be.  
“Group one will be two miles west with Sharon’s mom.”  
Sharon’s mom walked up got the supplies: food, canteens, extra tents, and clothes, plus there map. Then they headed off.   
“Group two you will be three miles North-East and I will be your chaperone. We will leave right after I get the rest of the groups ready and off.”   
Mr. Homer finished organizing groups and handing out the supplies then we begun our hike to camp.  
By the time we got there it was about five p.m. We pitched the tent, got all our sleeping bags rolled out, and got situated with our roommates. I was with Kayla and Carly in a tent while Cory, Mr. Homer, and Joe were together.  When we were done getting our tents ready we all came out and began making a fire. Kayla and I had to collect firewood while the others tried to get the fire to start.  
“Do you know where we are going hiking tomorrow?” I asked Kayla.  
“Not a clue, but how are things with Cory going?” she asked.  
“Good.”  
I didn’t really want to talk about Cory because we just got done fighting a few days earlier, but I didn’t know if I should bring that up.   
We walked for about another ten minutes, when all of a sudden we heard a rustle in the bushes.  
“What was that?!”  Kayla asked.   
“I don’t know... Let’s go check it out.”   
“What are you crazy?” Kayla whisper shouted at me.  
“Shhh… Come on don’t be such a baby.” I whispered back.   
We both put down the wood we collected and started to tiptoe towards the bushes. I pushed some of the bushes apart and peered into the darkness.  
“Do you see anything?” Kayla whispered.  
“Nothing yet” I replied.   
I started to walk through when I heard a low growl and I saw a pair of glowing red eyes looking at me. I started to back away slowly.  
“What’s wrong Jaycee?”  
I could hear the panic in Kayla’s voice.  
“Jaycee what was that?”  
“Let’s go” I harshly whispered to Kayla.   
“What?” Kayla asked.  
“RUN!!” I yelled to her.  
We picked up as many sticks as we could and started to run. I could hear the creature’s paws thudding behind me and its hot breath on my ankles.   
We were almost to the camp. That’s when I felt a sharp pain in my left thigh. I powered through it. We burst into the opening and Kayla stumbled and fell to the ground while I tripped over her into Cory and knocked him over. Kayla and I scrambled to get up and turn around. “What’s wrong?” Cory asked.  
“There is something out there!”  
 “I don’t see anything?” Cory said.  
“Well there is something out there and it tried to kill us!” I yelled at him in panic.   
There was nothing but the rustling of leaves in the wind.   
We started to calm down, then I remembered my thigh. I looked at my pants, they were stained with blood. I could feel the blood pulsing through my leg. I called over Mr. Homer in a weak voice.  
“What’s wrong?” He asked.  
“Could you look at my thigh? I think it got me?"  
 I started to get dizzy.  
“Oh my god!  It got you alright!”   
Cory came over and saw the blood. He didn’t say a word. He just stood there with shock and disbelief. Mr. Homer took out a pocket knife and started to cut my jeans above the wound.   
Once he pulled down what was left of my left pant leg he gasped a little. I didn’t want to look at the wound. Knowing I might pass out. I tried to tell myself it’s not that bad just so I wouldn’t look, but I couldn’t resist. My wound was worse than I expected. It was four large scratch marks that probably were at least a half an inch deep. The wound was still bleeding really bad. So bad that I could see the pulsing of the blood as it quickly drained out of me. My heart started to race again, and the blood started gushing faster. I started to feel very faint. I saw Mr. Homer get out supplies to stitch me up. He started to say something, but all I could hear was a loud, high pitched ringing in my ears. That was the last thing I remembered before I passed out.


	3. Run

Chapter 3  
I awoke in my tent. I was wrapped in Cory’s arms. I looked up at him.  
“Good morning.”  
“Good morning, sweetie.”   
“How does your thigh feel?” he asked.  
“What are you talking about?” I was puzzled.   
Why is he asking me about my thigh?”   
“You don’t remember?”  
“Nothing.” I replied.   
“You and Kayla were attacked last night by some sort of animal.” He explained.   
I sat there, confused, then I started to feel a slight throbbing in my left thigh. I lifted up my sleeping bag and looked at my leg. It was all bandaged with a slight blood stain in four thin lines.  I looked at Cory, panicky, and then I looked back at my leg.  
“You have twenty-eight stitches and-”   
Then everything came back to me: the sticks, the running, the pain, and the fear.   I sat up and started to adjust my leg trying to see if I was in pain when I moved. I was alright so I had Cory help me up.   
Once we got outside Kayla ran up to me.   
“Are you okay?!” she asked in a high pitched, concerned voice.  
“Yes, I am fine. Just a little sore that’s all.”  
“Oh thank the lord! I can’t imagine what I would have done if you were crippled!”  
“No, I am fine. I just wanna go home now.”  
I looked around for Mr. Homer. I didn’t see him anywhere.  
“Where is Mr. Homer?” I asked Cory.  
“He took Joe to try and find some wood and more supplies that might help. They should be back soon.”   
“Where is Carly then?” I asked him.   
He just gave me a blank, nervous stare.  
“Where is Carly?” I asked again.   
“Last time I saw her she was heading in the direction of where you and Kayla came from.”  
I looked at him with major concern. Then I heard a rustling in the bushes behind us. I turned around and saw Mr. Homer and Joe with arms full of branches for the fire.  
“Good morning, Jaycee, how are you feeling this morning?”  
“Fine, Mr. Homer, where did C-” I was cut off by a high pitched scream, Carly’s scream. We all looked in the direction in which it came with curiosity and concern then we all took off. Mr. Homer was at the front of the group while I took up the rear. I was running in an awkward half- hop half- limp. I started to fall behind, but I always had a little view of Joe’s big brown hair. I finally slowed to a walk and started to look around and then I realized we were in the same area in which Kayla and I were attacked.  
“Jaycee! Where are you?” I heard Cory yell.  
“Over here. I’m coming”  
I walked in the direction in which I heard all of them talking. When I reached them all I saw was blood. There was blood all over the ground and on the sides of trees. I looked at Carly, but I didn’t see a single drop on her.   
“What happened, Carly?”  
“I was walking trying to see what attacked you guys last night and then all of a sudden I heard a little growl and a cry, so I snuck up to the bushes and saw this big grizzly bear eating this cute baby mountain lion. That’s when I screamed, and it looked at me then took off.” She said in a shaky voice.   
“Then you guys showed up and now I don’t know what to do.”  
“Well, it’s getting dark, so I believe we should head back to camp soon.” responded Mr. Homer.  
By the time we got back to camp it was about three o’clock. We were all sitting around the fire when we heard a loud cry in the direction of where the mountain lion was. We all looked in the direction of the sound, and then at each other. I think we all got the same idea, because at that exact moment we all went into our tents.   
The next morning I woke up to rain. It was loud as it hit the top of our tent. I sat up and looked at Carly and Kayla. They were fast asleep. I knew I wouldn’t fall back asleep, so I put on my rain poncho and boots and went outside. I could tell it's morning, but the skies were a dark grey. I went over to the boy’s tent and peeked inside. They are fast asleep, except I didn’t see Joe. I started to look around our camp, but he was nowhere in sight. Then I saw his footprints in the mud. Of course they were heading in the direction of where Kayla and I were attacked; he was always tracking animals he shouldn’t. I knew I shouldn’t go alone, but the rain was washing away his footprints and I couldn’t lose him out there, so I began to hobble after him.  
All of a sudden the tracks got all crazy. There was a body print and blood in the mud. Yet I didn't see Joe. I looked closer and saw paw prints. Big pawprints. My heart had started racing. They headed off in the direction of the dead cub. I kept looking for more clues. It looked like Joe tried to drag himself on. I followed the trail until I found Joe’s shoe. I look around, but there was no sign of him. I continued on, but then I saw the paw prints had come back and a lot more blood. My heart caught in my throat. My head began to race and the smell of the blood made me nauseous. I heard a slight rustle to my right. I approached with caution. That was where the paw prints and bloody trail lead. I slowly pulled back the branches, and birds flew up startling me, then I saw Joe. Or whatever was left of him. He was scattered across the ground. Some limbs were missing and his face wasn’t even there anymore. His intestines were hanging on low branches of bushes and the smell was unbearable.  I turned to throw up. His stomach was ripped open with his insides scattered was over kill. Nothing was even eaten. This monster was just looking for revenge. I stood up and looked for more paw prints. I found them. They were heading right in the direction of the camp. With tears streaming down my cheeks, I started running as fast as my injuries would allow.


	4. Falling For You

Chapter 4  
When I got back to camp, I was too late. Both tents were down and blood was everywhere. I looked for remains in the tents: hoping that at least one of them got away from that blood thirsty monster. I found what was left of Mr. Homer, but no Cory. A wave of relief flushed over me. I walked over to my tent and no Carly, but there was Kayla. But she was still alive. I knelt down and held her head in my arms.   
“Kayla. Kayla, please don’t go.” I begun to cry.  
“Please, Kayla, you can make it.”  
“Jaycee, go. Hurry. Get out o-of here before it c-c-comes back.”   
She had blood dribbling from her mouth now and she was barely awake.   
“I won’t leave you.”   
I cried harder.  
“Go. Find the others and get o-o-out of here b-b-before it’s t-too late. Be s-o-strong, I b-b-believe in you.”   
She begun to cough and wheeze.   
“Kayla? Kayla!”  
She was gone.  
I held her tight and cried into her shirt. I heard a low growl. I turned and saw the creature now. It was as black as the night sky with sharp claws that shimmered in the dim light. It was up to my waist on all fours. I got up slowly and backed away. The mountain lion stalked closer and I could see the rage in its eyes. Its coat was soaked in blood and its teeth stained red. I had never seen so much hatred in my life. It’s growl got louder the further I backed away. It was getting closer and started to walk faster as I turned and run. It caught up to me quickly, for my injury slowed me down. I felt the adrenaline kick in and I ran faster. I kept running until I reached a huge cliff, I stopped. My leg was searing with pain and I could feel the stitches had torn. Blood was dripping down my leg and my pants were soaked. I was at the edge of  a cliff and the creature knew I had no escape. I looked down and there was a raging river below. Lightning lit up the sky behind the mountain lion as it stalked closer. I backed up a little more and I felt the ground break beneath my feet. I grabbed the edge in the nick of time, but it was slicked with mud and the rain made it harder to hold on.  
I felt my fingers slipping. I’m stuck between a rushing river and a killing machine. I don’t have much time, for the monster is getting closer and is almost in reach. I have no chance of surviving against that bloodthirsty creature, but I have a slight chance of making it against the river. It pounces and I let go. I feel like I am finally out of this mess, free. Then I hit the cold raging water.  
It’s hard to stay afloat. The current drags me down and slams me against rocks. I burst above the surface and I am drug right back under. The water is dark and almost peaceful below the surface, maybe I should just let the current take me? I would be out of this mess and at peace. Then I hear Kayla’s voice in my head   
“Be strong, I believe in you.”  
I kick as hard as I can, but my lungs are about to burst.  I break the surface and gasp for air. The water is freezing. I grab onto a log rushing by and hold on for dear life. Hypothermia is kicking in. I am slammed against rock after rock, but I still hang on. Then I hear a loud noise. I see a waterfall up ahead. I let go and paddle as hard as I can in the other direction but the currents too strong. I feel my stomach drop and with it, me.


	5. Little Old Otis

Chapter 5  
    I wake up on wet sand. I am wet and in a lot of pain. I slowly sit up and assess my injuries. No broken bones, but there is a lot of bruising and I think I tore open a few stitches. I try to stand up but wobble and fall back to my knees. I look around and find a stick big enough to prop myself onto. I half crawl, half drag myself over to it and use it to at least get me up. I have a major headache and my stitches hurt even more. I start to hobble down the shore. I wonder to myself how far I was washed downstream. I wonder for about a half hour, but I have to rest about every five to ten minutes. I wonder for about another thirty minutes, then I come across a fishing pole and some gear, but no one there. I look around anxiously, hoping someone was nearby.  
I start to yell, “Hello! Is anyone here? Please, I need help!”  
There was nothing but the sound of the river. I look towards the fishing gear and I see a cooler. My stomach growled and I realized how hungry I am.   
I bend down and open the cooler and start digging through it to look for food, when all of a sudden, “Hey! That’s my lunch!”  
I whip around and find a tall skinny man with a gray scruffy beard.   
“O-o-oh. I-I’m sorry, I thought t-t-that no one w-w-was here.”  
He scans me up and down then says, “What happened to you? You young whipper snappers having a party in the woods again, wait, forget it I don’t care. Let’s get you to a hospital and get you looked over.”   
“Thank you sir.”   
“Call me Otis.”  
“Well,  nice to meet you Otis. I’m Jaycee.” I reply.  
He leads me to his truck then says, “I am going to go get my gear, then I will bring you to the hospital.”   
He starts to hobble off and I decide to turn on the radio. As it softly plays I doze off and close my eyes for a quick nap.  
    I wake up and it’s almost dark, but Otis is nowhere in sight. I open the door and look out into the dark. I see nothing so I get out of the truck and hobble over to where the gear was. There’s Otis face down in the river. I rush to him and turn him over. He has no cuts or bruises, but half of his face was drooping. I can hear him faintly breathing. I grab his arms and try to drag him, but all he does is groan in pain. At least I know he is alive. I struggle to get him to stand up and  I am barely able to do so. I throw his arm over my shoulder and drag him slowly to the truck. I put him in the passenger seat and buckle him up. I get in the driver’s seat but there are no keys. I search Otis’ pockets, but I didn’t find them. I head back down to the river bed, but I can’t see anything. I get on my hands and knees and feel for them. I am able to find them wedged between boulders half way in the water. I head back up, start the truck, and take off.


	6. Night Terror

Chapter 6  
    I find the hospital and hobble inside. I reach the front desk; tell them about Otis and where the truck is. They rush out there and bring him in. They immediately bring him to the back. I feel a sharp pain hit me as I sink into a chair. My leg is killing me now and I look down and it’s bleeding again. I feel nauseous. The woman at the front desk walks over to me and says something, but I didn’t hear her, and then everything went dark.   
    I wake up in a white room. The light is very bright and I feel cold. I look down and I am in a blue gown with no back. The door clicks open and in walks an older man in a white lab coat with a little white beard.  
    “Well, how are you?” he asks.  
“I’m okay, but I’m really sore.”  
He pulls back part of my gown and looks at my thigh. It’s restitched, red, and puffy.  
    “It looks like it's becoming infected, but we can easily fix that.”   
He put a medicine in my IV bag. I feel it kick in right away.  
“Your mother is on her way so she should be here soon. Need anything else?”  
“No I’m fine.”  
As he exits the room I begin to think about everything that happened. Kayla is gone; Cory and Carly are missing in the woods. I can’t even imagine what they are going through right now.   
My mom finally arrives at about two, “Jaycee, are you okay sweetie!”  
“Yeah, I’m fine, just a little sore.”  
She just stares at me with tears dripping down her cheeks. We barely talk for the next few hours until the doctor comes in.   
“We are ready to release you, but first we need you to sign these forms.”   
She signs the forms and we head home. Right away I go to my room, flop onto my bed, and hope sleep will come to me fast.  
    I feel the pain, the fear, I hear the cries, and I see all the blood. All I can see are the claws, the bodies, and Kayla’s body in my arms. Watching the life bleed out of her and seeing her cry. I start to scream and cry until my lungs can’t take it. I see the monster again, but this time it gets me. It grabs me in its powerful jaws and shakes me. I scream even louder, but then I wake up.


	7. Buried

Chapter 7  
    It's only been three days since I got home and we are already having Kayla’s funeral. They have search parties looking for Cory and Carly, but deep down I know they won’t find them. They think they know where we were, but they have no clue. They all believe they are already dead, because of how bad the bodies looked when they were found, but Cory is good with this kind of stuff. He loved the outdoors and camping, but not as much as he loved me. For the last three days he is all I could think about. His smile, his laugh, just everything about him made me miss him even more.   
    The funeral was longer than I expected, I can’t look away from Kayla’s lifeless body. I start to remember when I first saw her body on the ground. I try to shake away the thoughts, push them to the back of my mind. But they just keep becoming more vivid.  
I see Kayla’s head turn towards me and say, “Why Jaycee. Why didn’t you help me?”  
“I tried, Kayla, I tried.”   
Tears begin to run down my cheeks.   
I stand up and run to her side, “I’m sorry. I am so sorry Kayla.”   
I put my face into my hands and drop to my knees crying harder. I feel light hands on my shoulders. I turn and look into my mom’s eyes. They are glazed over and a few tears are running down her cheek. I bury my face in her shoulder and I can’t stop crying. I can’t move I am so upset. All I can think about is how, now, Kayla is gone.   
    As I watch them begin to bury her body something snaps in me. Determination and rage fill me and I begin to think up a plan. A plan to save Cory and Carly, but there is a conflict with that. The mountain lion. I don’t know if it tracked them down and killed them or it just left, but either way I am going to kill it. I will get my revenge and I won’t just do it for me, but for everyone hurt by that creature.


	8. Preparations

Chapter 8  
    It’s 5 o’clock in the morning and I begin to pack for my “adventure”. I grab my dad’s shotgun, ammo, flashlight, food, a few waters, bandages, and sweatshirt just in case.   
I wrote a note to my mother stating, “ I will be home soon, if I do not return within five days send help.”  
I sneak out the front door avoiding the watering can on the stairs. I push the family pickup truck down the driveway trying not to wake my mother. My leg aches at the effort, but I work through the pain and as quickly as possible I start it up and drive away. As I drive down my long dirt road I can only imagine what my friends are going through out there in the woods, with that beast still alive.


	9. Hiking

Chapter 9  
By the time I arrive it is already almost midday with the sun shining bright, but on the horizon all I can see are thick, black, threatening clouds. I load all of my thing into a little side bag and then I load the shotgun, put the rest of the ammo in my bag, and sling the gun over my shoulder. I begin retracing the steps to our camp and then I realize that there is a police tape trail leading me there, which made it ten times easier. I move as swiftly as I can, with the bag bouncing around, trying to cover some ground before dark.   
    By the time I reach the camp I have broken a sweat and it’s about eighty-seven degrees out here. I pull out a bottle of water, chug three- fourths of it and dumped the rest of my head, cooling myself off. My stomach makes a weird gurgling sound so I pull out a granola bar. I look towards the sky and I see that I only have about two hours before the sun sets. I try to recall all of the things my father had taught me about hunting. It had been a long time since I had even held a gun, but that won’t stop me. I begin to stand up and I seen the blood stains in which Kayla had once lain. My best friend died. I feel a tear stream down my face but that only fuels my anger so I leave that wretched spot, take one final look and think to myself that I will not let my friends die in vain. I don't know how I will kill it, but I will die trying if I have to.


	10. Exhaustion

Chapter 10  
    I am about seven miles away from our old camp by the time the sun sets. At this point I am just following my gut. I have a feeling that I am going in the right direction. I can feel the temperature quickly dropping and I see that the dark clouds are overhead now. I look around for a safe place to sleep for that night, but I spot nothing right away. I work my way to the bottom of a steep cliff and find a little cave. I crawl inside, and just as I do thunder and lightning crack over my head and the rain starts pouring down. I begin to plan out my next move. Should I head in another direction? Or continue the same way? I settle down with my back against the wall and the gun loaded and in my lap.


	11. Reunions

Chapter 11  
    I wake up in the middle of the night. the moon is high in the sky and all I can hear is the screeching of bats out in the night. I look around, remembering where I am, when I hear a low growl in the far back of the cave. I pick up the rifle and dig in my bag and pull out the flash light. I start heading towards where I heard the sound. The cave goes a lot farther back than expected. I hear the growl again, it seems to be coming from a tunnel branching off from the main. I turn down the tunnel, shining the beam of light over every inch of the cave. The growl comes again, but this time a lot closer. I must have stumbled into an animal’s cave and alarmed it. Question is what kind of animal am I dealing with? I reach a division in the cave. I listen for any noise, the growl comes again from the left. I turn the beam and head that way and not to far in the growl gets a lot louder and becomes more frequent. I look all around, but see nothing. I reached a dead end, yet I can still hear the growling. I turn around and see a tail sticking out of the base of the wall. I bend over and find the source of the growling. A new batch of coyote pups and a not too happy mother all bundled up around her pups. She stands and faces me I back away as she nips at my shins. I turn and run back for the main cave before I aggravate her anymore.By the time I am almost to the main cave the mother stopped chasing me and went back to her pups  
    Once I get back to the main cave I collect the rest of my things, eat a quick snack, and then begin again on my journey. I don't even really know where I am going. I guess I am just wandering around and thinking of things I would do in their situation. After I am about three miles away from the cave I come to a clearing. There is no sign of any life, so I cautiously began walking through. It’s so quiet that I get a cold shiver of fear up my spine. I feel the hair on my neck stand up. I know something isn’t right here. All I can hear is myself breath. There should be at least a few birds, deer, or at least a rodent running through. Yet, there is nothing. I stop and just listen to the wind. I scan the edges of the woods looking for something, I don't really know what, but I know there is something there. I reach an open region in the forest. I have to strain my eyes to see, but  I  believe I see the beast.  
    I reach for my gun, but all of a sudden I am pulled to the ground and a hand is placed over my mouth. I look back and to my surprise I see Cory.  A rush of joy and relief rush over me like a tidal wave. I struggle to get out of his grip, but he is strong. His eyes are focused on something in the distance and I believe I know what it is.   
I tap on his hand lightly to make him release me. He loosens his grip, but keeps focused on the edge of the woods. I turn around and wrap my arms around his neck and silently weep on his shoulder. He pulls me off, still distracted. He slowly begins to stand and taps my shoulder telling me to do the same. moving as slow as possible, I stood at a low crouch keeping eyes on Cory waiting for him to tell me what to do. He grabs my hand and backs away slowly, trying not to make too many sudden movements. Staying in my crouched position, I follow through the tall grass. We begin to walk a little faster until my foot trips in a hole, scattering a couple dozen birds.  
 Cory’s eyes go wide, “Run”   
“What?” I ask.  
“RUN!” he begins pulling at my shirt trying to pull me up, but I begin to stumble.   
My leg still not fully healed, but I finally get my feet under me and begin to sprint as fast as I can.  The rifle and bag bouncing on me made it harder to run. I was beginning to fall behind and I began to hear the loud rustling of the brush behind me, I felt the adrenaline kick in. Reaching around in the bag I pulled out the ammo for the gun, and slipped the bag off of my shoulder and whipped it behind me hoping to slow it down. Feeling lighter, I begin to pick up speed, but I can still hear the monster not to far behind. Reaching the edge of the woods, I begin weaving through the trees. At this point I can barely see Cory ahead of me.   
As I am running I begin to remember why I was here. I swing the shotgun in front on me. I spin around with the gun pointed straight ahead, but there is nothing there. I knew right away something was wrong. That bloody thirsty monster wouldn't give up so easily. I turn around and begin to walk, listening for the sound of any movement. I hear a the snap of a branch, spinning around so fast I almost fall. Yet, still nothing, I hear it again, but it doesn't sound like it's behind me or in front of me. The hair on the back of my neck begins to rise as I realize where it is. I slowly look up, and there is a pair of bright red eyes staring directly at me. I gaze into its hateful eyes and feel my stomach begin to tighten. I bring my gun up fast, but the mountain lion is faster. It slams down on my arms, knocking the gun right out of my hands. I begin to panic. I feel the sharp claws digging into my skin drawing blood. I begin thrashing around, causing the monster to slide off my arms. I throw my hands toward its throat so its powerful jaws and teeth won't chomp down and pierce my skull. Adrenaline is pumping through me, but I can’t help but feel the fear taking over. Tears stream down my face as the creature’s teeth get closer and closer to my face.


	12. New Camp

Chapter 12  
I can't help but look the monster straight in the eyes. All that is seen is pure hatred.  My arm muscles are burning now. This beast is heavy and I won't be able to hold it much longer. I begin to scream for Cory, but I hear nothing in reply. My arms begin to weaken and the beast’s large jaws are getting closer and closer to me. I can feel the heat of its breath on my nose and I know I am going to die here. Its claws are sinking deeper and deeper into my flesh as it struggles to bite down on my face. Yet, right at that moment when I was going to stop fighting the weight of the monster is flung off of me. I stare into the eyes of Cory now, I scramble up and into his arms. He had a large branch in his hands that he used to hit the mountain lion off of me. I turn and look where the beast lay right next to my gun with blood slowly dripping from its mouth. I slowly lean down and and snatch up the rifle. Turning swiftly on my heels I jump into the arms of Cory. I begin to sob and I can't even begin to thank him for what he did. Releasing him from my grasp I plant a kiss right on his cheek.  
“Jaycee.” he says in a quiet voice.   
“What is it?”  
I know something is wrong by the fear in his eyes. His arms begin to tremble. Fear is rising in my chest; I turn around and there is nothing. The beast was gone and I knew that we were in big trouble.  
We were running through the woods as fast as our legs could carry us. I had no idea where we were going, but I could tell Cory knew. We make a sharp left and I begin to pant.  
“Cory can we slow down? I can't continue like this much longer.” I say through heavy breathing.  
He slows down, but is still at a fast walking pace. His head is swinging from side to side as if looking for something in particular.  
“What are you looking for?” I ask.  
“Camp.” He responds.   
“You made a camp?” I ask.   
He doesn’t reply. He just keeps swinging his head looking for the camp. He begins to pick up his pace again. We are at a light jog when all of a sudden he veers left into thick brush. The brush pulls at my clothes trying to hold me back as if I was in a horror movie being attacked. Then we break into an opening. It is surrounded by the thick brush and super tall trees. I see a little fire and two back packs.  
I ask, “ Where is Carly?”  
He begins to walk towards the base of one of the trees. He pulls back some brush and a large rock or two and find Carly asleep in a huge hole. I see blood on her ribs and arm.  
“What happened?” I whisper to him.  
He replies, “The mountain lion chased after us once we left the old camp and attacked. Then we heard you scream and it ran back towards camp. I ran after it, but by the time I caught up you had already jumped. I couldn’t do anything about it so I helped Carly up and we found this place.”  
“How is she holding up?”  
“She has lost a lot of blood and is very weak. She stays in here most of the day sleeping. The mountain lion hasn't found us here, yet. The smell of the tree and damp leaves masks most of the blood smell, let's hope it stays that way.”


	13. Two Birds With One Stone

Chapter 13  
I take off my pack and hand Cory some food. We are sitting on thick roots of a tree across from Carly. I sit in silence as I watch him finish off his second power bar. I felt the hair on my neck begin to stand.  
“ Something isn’t right.” I whisper to Cory.  
He looks around, grabs my hand, and we run to Carly and join her under the tree. The mountain lion stalks into the clearing. It begins sniffing around and chews on my bag. Carly begins to wake and I throw my hand over her mouth and press one finger to my lips. She opens her eyes and receives the message. I look back at the clearing and see that the mountain lion has lost interest in the bag and begins sniffing around. I can see my rifle a few yards away from us. About half way between us and the monster. I have slim chance of reaching it in time to shoot at the beast, but if I don't try we will all die anyway. I rise onto my haunches. I get ready to run, but Cory grabs my arm before I could. I look towards him and I see his eyes welling with tears. He points at himself implying that he will do it, but I shake my head no.  
“ This is my fight. I am faster than you and if I don't make it you need to take care of Carly.” I whisper as soft as possible.   
“No, I would rather have you stay here and die with you than you out there knowing that I did nothing to help you, Jaycee.”  
Tears began rolling down his cheeks. I nod my head showing him I won't go. He relaxes and releases me. I gaze into his eyes and see an overwhelming amount of both love and fear. I look out and see that the mountain lion is still on the other side of camp.I knew someone was going to die today. It was us or the mountain lion.  
I give Cory a kiss on the cheek, “ I love you.” Then I push him back and sprint into the clearing. I am closing the space between me and the gun, but so is the beast. I can see powerful muscles ripple beneath the creature's fur. How can such a magnificent creature have so much hatred? I run as fast as I can and dive for the gun. I raise and shoot. Nothing there. I am dumbfounded until a sharp pain digs erupts in my back. Its sharp claws raking into my back and its jaws latch in between my head and shoulder. I release a shriek of pain and try to wriggle , but the monster is too heavy and it hurts to much. Then its jaws release me and the weight is gone. I roll over and feel the blood coursing out of me. Cory is fighting the mountain lion with a giant stick and Carly is standing over me. She begins tying a cloth around my wound. I begin to sit up and Carly helps me up like a mother teaching her child.   
She looks at me and says, “ Tell my family I love them.”  
She turns and runs at the monster. She is screaming at the top of her lungs to run. Cory runs at me grabs my wrist and the gun. He pulls me behind him and aims the gun. The mountain lion is on top of Carly. Its claws ripping at her stomach and jaws locked on her shoulder. She is screaming in pain, and rolling around in the dust.  
She was on her back now; lifting her head so the mountain lions head was hidden she turns to Cory with pleading eyes and says in a shaky voice, “Two birds, one stone.”  
I don’t understand what she means until the gun goes off. It hits Carly first, a clean shot through the skull and then into the eye of the beast. It howls in pain then slumps over. It’s done. Everything is finally over.  Why would Carly sacrifice herself like that. Guilt floods over me. Suffocating me. I begin to feel dizzy. The adrenaline leaving my body. I turn to Cory who has tears streaming down his face and then it goes dark.   
I awaken by a river. Cory is sitting by me with his head in his hands. I reach for his arm. I brush his wrist and he turns to me. His eyes are puffy and red. I don't even ask because I know why he is crying. I pull him towards me and he wraps his arm around me and begins to sob.  
“You did what you had to do. She told you to do it.”   
“But the way she looked at me. I saw her fade. I can't get the look she gave me out of my head.”  
I squeeze him tight, but I had to release him a little. There was a searing pain in my back that made me feel warm. Releasing Cory, I place my hand on my shoulder blade. I felt a hot goop sticking to my hand. As I bring my hand in front of my face I see the red liquid that is slowly clotting on my body. Cory walks to the back of me and takes off what is left of my shirt. He rips off a piece of my shirt and brings it over to the river. Bringing the water soaked rag back, he began dabbing the dried blood from my back. Flinching a little, I began to relax. Once he finished cleaning up my wounds he began packing the wounds with dirt. After that he cut my shirt in half and wrapped it around my chest keeping the dirt in place. I looked over and saw my bag. Crawling over to my bag I pull out my jacket and carefully pull it over my shoulders to cover the wrap. I turn and look at Cory who is staring at me.  
“How far are we from your makeshift camp?” I ask.  
“About a half of a mile. I would have kept walking, but after a while you got heavy.”  
I walk towards him and wrap my arms around his waist.  
“Thank you.”  
I kiss him on the cheek and pull him in close to me. A few tears drip down my cheeks as he holds me in his arms. We just stand there in each other's arms, listening to one another's heartbeats and breathing in the scents blowing off of us.


	14. Marcus

Chapter 14  
We had been walking for about three and a half hours until we finally reached a road. We begin to walk south along the side hoping for someone to drive by. As we begin to cross an old bridge an old pickup truck pulls up behind us. We turn and begin waving our arms while jumping up and down. The truck jerks to a stop and we run to the driver's side window. It is a middle aged looking man. He was slender, tall, and neatly put together. He has a charming grin with a father like vibe coming from him. My guard drops when he came to us. I don’t know what it is about him, but he seems genuinely kind.  
He rolls down his window and asks, “What can I do for ya?”  
“Please help us, we need a ride into town. We have been lost in the woods for days now.” I reply with a hoarse voice.  
“Well it’s too late to bring you into town from here, it would take at least a few hours and buses don’t run this late to get you where you need to be, but you can crash at my place if you would like? And it looks like you could use some medical attention? Good news for you I am a nurse and I can fix you up.” He says with a cool tone and a huge grin.  
“That would be great!” I say with eagerness.  
I don’t even give it a second though as we climb in on the passenger side of the truck. I crawl in the middle while Cory takes the door.  
“ I am Jaycee, by the way, and this is Cory.”  
“ I’m Marcus. It’s quite a pleasure to meet you.”  
By the time we reach his house it is dark. It’s a small log cabin with a large front porch with a rocking chair. The house looked tidy, the whole yard seems to be spotless. Not even a stray piece of tall grass. Marcus hops out of the truck and we follow. He leads us into the house and it is so clean that everything seemed to sparkle.  
“ Please have a seat and I will cook you some dinner. And after dinner I will patch you kids up.”   
Marcus gestures towards a wooden table with matching benches on either side and then disappears around a corner. Cory and I sit on opposite sides of the table and sit in silence. When Marcus returns he has two bowls of some kind of soup.  
“It’s homemade chicken noodle, so eat up.” Marcus announces with a toothy grin.  
We devour the soup within minutes and ask for more, but once he returns I start feeling really dizzy. I can tell something is wrong because I see Cory pass out across the table and Marcus binding Cory’s hands.  
“S-s-s-top-p d-d-don't d-d-o-” is all I could choke out before it all went dark.   
When I wake I am in a dimly lit room; I am laying in a cozy bed with  a pink comforter along with white walls with pink flowers. I feel light headed from the drugs and my eyesight is still kind of burry. As I look around for Cory I feel something cold on my ankle. Shooting up into a sitting position while ripping off my blankets cause the object to pull tight. As I look down at my ankle I see a rusty metal chain wrapped around my ankle. The chain leads to the far side of the room; It's attached to a ring that is bolted to the wall. I stand up beside the bed and feel a fresh wrap around my abdomen and my leg is clean and bandaged. They ache but not enough to affect me that much. I walk around the room and I find pictures.  Pictures of a young girl with her father, Marcus. Where is she I wondered to myself. Continuing on I come to a desk.  On top of the desk is a newspaper clipping; It has the little girls picture above an article. His daughter drown in a river when she was seven: that was already ten years ago. She would be my age. I open up a box that is on the far side of the desk. There is a mirror inside.  
“WHAT THE?” I say aloud.  
My hair is trimmed into a hair cut a small child would have; my bangs are the length of my eyebrows while the rest of my hair is shoulder level. It’s the same haircut the small girl in the picture has; now that I look closer  realize that she looks like me.   
Marcus walked in with something in his hand.   
“Good morning sweetheart, how did you sleep?”   
his grin is so large it send shivers down my spine.  
“Where is Cory?”   
I pretty much scream at him.  
His grin turns into a devious smile, he wraps his arms around me and hugs me, “Why I truly don’t know at this point, by now he is probably already dead.”  
He pets my head and his smile grows as he tells me what happened to Cory.  
“ After you laid down to take a nap he started causing a lot of problems. He kept screaming your name and he wouldn't stop  and I didn't want him to wake you so I decided to get rid of him. I chained up his arms and took a golf club to his legs until I  knew they were broken in many places.”  
his smile is so large he looks like the joker.   
“WHERE IS HE!”  
I am crying by this point and shove him off of me.  
“Now dearest, don’t cry. I placed him deep in the woods so he would be safe, well at least safe from being rescued.”  
He begins to laugh at himself. I crumpled to the ground and place my face into the palms of my hands. He comes closer and places his hand around me to hug me.  
I shove him off, “DON’T TOUCH ME YOU PSYCHOPATH” his smile disappears.  
“You do not talk to your father that way.” “  
YOU AREN’T MY FATHER YOU LUNATIC!” I am screaming through many tears. He stares at me for a bit with a twinge of anger in his eyes, then he finally opens his hand and reveals what is inside. It is a small yellow gear box with some kind of wire forming a ring. He walks towards me and I begin to scurry backwards. He leaps on top of me and pins down my arms. Slipping the loop over my neck he tightened it so it feels like a choker necklace. He stands up and I scoot back farther. I try and tug at the wire but it won't budge.  
“Apologize to your father.”  
He glares at me.  
“You aren't my father.”  
He held up a remote and says, “Last chance. Apologize. I don’t want to hurt you.”  
“Nev-AAAAAAHHHHH.”  
He clicked the button and the noose like wire tightened even more and began electrocuting me. It felt like forever until it stopped. Once it was over my neck is on fire and I am in and out of consciousness.  
“Now you should learn to respect your father, shouldn't you.”   
“Y-yes.”   
He walks closer and leans close to my face, “Yes what.” “Yes… Father.”  
He smirks, kisses my forehead and stands back up.  
“Good, now get some rest. That little experience can leave you a little weak. Daddy loves his little angel”   
He leaves the room chuckling to himself. I just lay there on the floor. Waiting for the throbbing in my neck to fade, but I black out before that even comes close to happening.


	15. Confusion

Chapter 15  
*It’s been about two month since I have been kidnapped. The days just seem to be blurring together and I don’t even really know who I am anymore. He keeps calling me Jenny and I am getting to the point where I think I am actually her. My father… I mean Marcus is strict, but I feel like he is finally becoming more lenient. When I miss behave I don’t get electrocuted as long. My neck has permanent burn scars and is generally swollen. Daddy says if I am good I can start coming out of my room. What am I saying. I keep thinking he is actually my father. I can’t tell the difference between reality and this nightmare anymore. *  
*As the days drag along, I believe Marcus is my father more and more everyday. I thought it would take longer for me to forget who I am, but with this collar and the amount of pain I am in it’s working a lot faster. Someone needs to help me before I forget that I am Jennifer not Jaycee… Oh no. It’s already happening. My name is Jaycee, my name is Jaycee,  my name is Jen- urg again. This is truly scaring me right now. I need to get out of here.*


End file.
